Heather Payne does not miss the stage. Make no mistake – she treasures the nearly 18 years she experienced as a founding member of Point of Grace. But she has not – not even once – looked back and thought, I wish I was back on the road. These days, as wife of a pastor and educator and mother of four adorable kids, living a fairly quiet life away from the Nashville scene, Heather Payne is the very voice of contentment.
But, oh, that voice! That remarkable range, that honest delivery, that effortless power – how it has been missed. In 2008, when Payne retired from Point of Grace, she declared that she would sing again one day. A good friend gave her this advice: “When the time comes, don’t sing because you have to, sing because you want to.” Now, finally, the time has come. Heather Payne is singing again.
“Sweet Exchange” is a fresh take on the timeless hymns of the church. Modern arrangements, new choruses, and sometimes-complete re-imaginations help these deep and meaningful songs shine.
If modern listeners ever thought the lyrics of hymns were stale, these presentations will draw them in and open both their hearts and minds. Alas and Did My Savior Bleed is given an appropriately solemn, almost theatrical treatment. O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing drives to a pulsing kick drum and features a rousing new chorus and provocative bridge: “And even with a chorus of 10,000 voices strong, and even with a day that was declares the album’s theme. Her husband was preaching on imputed righteousness, a big theological term, and he was explaining it with a quote from a first century Greek writer’s Letter to Diognetus. The fact that this old letter could explain a difficult concept in an embraceable way, and then overflow in worship, embodied exactly what Payne hoped to accomplish with this album. Consider these words, almost 2,000 years old: “O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! That the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!”
Sweet Exchange features Heather’s signature vocals paired with timeless hymns and anthems of the church while adding an updated style to create her signature sound. Featuring her first single “Rock of Ages,” in addition to other classics “Holy Holy Holy,” and the heartfelt anthem “My Jesus,” Heather’s soaring yet intimate voice take us on a journey of a “sweet exchange.”
WIN: 24/7 MOMS and Heather Payne are giving away Sweet Exchange by Heather Payne CD.
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*We received a complimentary Sweet Exchange by Heather Payne CD for review no financial compensation was received.